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Paradise’s Pieper James Addresses Brendan Morais’ ‘Dishonest Behavior’ Amid Natasha Parker Drama
Her side! Bachelor in Paradise star Pieper James said she doesn’t “condone” boyfriend Brendan Morais’ “dishonest behavior” toward contestant Natasha Parker amid their season 7 drama.
“I’m not an extension of Brendan and his actions,” Pieper, 24, told Us Weekly on Thursday, September 9. “I got caught up in the moment while I was with Brendan in Paradise, and while I don’t fully blame editing, it doesn’t always tell the whole story.”
The former Bachelor contestant from Matt James’ season continued that she is “truly sorry” for “any hurt” her actions caused Natasha, 33, who she claimed to have a “friendship” with pre-show and had even “spoken to her” about Brendan before they arrived at the beach.
“I hope that I get the opportunity to speak to her soon and make things right,” Pieper added.
“I didn’t go into Paradise with the intention of hurting anyone, nor would I ever want to be the reason why someone had a bad experience,” the New York City resident said. “I went in excited to see a guy that I had connected with and liked before the show started filming and was looking forward to seeing if that connection would grow into something more.”
Brendan, 31, who arrived at the beach during day one, struck up a romance with Natasha. However, the other contestants began questioning him about his pre-show relationship with Pieper, who did not show up on the reality dating show until several weeks later. When Natasha asked about the rumblings, Brendan assured that he and Pieper “weren’t serious.”
Brendan’s claims blew up in his face once Pieper arrived. It became clear they were much more of an item than they let on — and the Massachusetts native had been dishonest with Natasha about some details of their previous relationship.
During Brendan and Pieper’s one-on-one date, the model first accused him of “downplaying” their relationship to the other contestants but then thanked him for “playing the game” in order to stick around until she arrived.
“We have to have each other’s back,” the former roofer told his girlfriend during their date. “It has to be you and me, first and foremost, before anyone else on the beach, and that’s the only way we’re gonna get through this, like, being in the position we wanna be in, utilizing this time here and taking advantage of what Paradise would promote together.”
The pair continued to incriminate themselves back on the beach when they were heard on their microphones talking about Instagram follower count. Pieper also said Brendan made it “so easy” for her to “swoop” into the season.
For his part, Brendan released an apology on Wednesday, September 8, via Instagram Stories.
“First of all, I removed my last post from my feed. I posted it before the episode aired and had no idea the magnitude of hurt that I caused,” he wrote in reference to an Instagram photo with a caption that read, “Here for the wrong reasons.”
“My approach to many things in life is sarcasm. In this instance with regard to my post, I was completely insensitive,” he continued. “Most importantly, I apologize to you, Natasha. I hurt you. I am deeply sorry for doing so. I understand that the damage is already done and all I can do going forward is acknowledge the error of my ways.”
